Venerable Nicephorus the Abbot of Catabad

Saint Nicephorus was born at Constantinople into a rich and illustrious family. His parents, Andrew and Theodora, raised their son in the Christian Faith. After their death, young Nicephorus distributed all his wealth to the poor and went to Chalcedon. The strict monastic life at the Monastery of St Andrew appealed to Nicephorus, and he remained there with the brethren.

From the very start, the saint displayed unusual fervor in prayer and at work. He had such endurance in asceticism, that soon the igumen sent the saint to a Phoenician island to preach Christ, and he was made igumen of a monastery dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos.

St Nicephorus lived on the island for thirty-three years, and he brought many pagans to Christ. A church was built on the island on the site of a pagan temple.

Sensing the approach of death, the saint was carried aboard a ship and said to the captain, “I am going to the Lord, but take my body to Chalcedon to the monastery of St Andrew.” As soon as he said these words, he died.

The ship sailed to Chalcedon, and the brethren of the monastery of St Andrew reverently buried the body of the holy ascetic.

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The Orthodox Church in America

The Mission of The Orthodox Church in America, the local autocephalous Orthodox Christian Church, is to be faithful in fulfilling the commandment of Christ to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”